Affiliate Assembly I. Following introductions, Brene Duggins, chair of the Affiliate of the Year Award committee, announced this new award and provided information on how Affiliates could apply. Next, AASL staff provided the guidelines, instructions, and membership lists for the 2018 re-affiliation process. Cassandra Barnett from Region 6 distributed application information for the Sarah Jaffarian Award. Stephanie Book, AASL Communication Manager, presented information on new and updated resources found at the AASL Standards web portal. Following the presentation, Sylvia Norton, AASL Executive Director, asked affiliate members to share how they were implementing the standards in their state and then answered questions. Eileen Kern, chairperson of the AASL ESSA Implementation Task Force, ended the meeting by providing updated information on ESSA. Affiliates reviewed their individual state ESSA plans and worked within groups to plan next steps.
Affiliate Assembly II began with the annual AASL Candidates Forum moderated by AASL Past President Audrey Church. Following speeches by candidates for various AASL positions, the Affiliate Assembly meeting began. AASL President Steven Yates shared his President’s Report, as well as outcomes of the 2017 Concerns and Commendations process. Following Yates’s presentation, delegates and alternates moved into their regional work groups to discuss the Concerns and Commendations process. Before adjournment, Brene Duggins, chair-elect, announced the candidates for the next Assembly Chair Election at ALA Annual and reviewed upcoming Concerns and Commendation deadlines.
After Affiliate Assembly adjourned, Jim Neal, ALA President, welcomed school, academic, and public library participants to the “Enhancing Communication and Strengthening Library Ecosystems” session. The American Association of School Librarians, the Chapter Relations Office, and Office for Library Advocacy hosted the event as part of its yearlong State Ecosystem Initiative. Kathryn Deiss facilitated the dialogue on enhancing communication between the state library association and the state school library association to advance shared objectives and strengthen libraries.
Read other ALA Midwinter 2018 reports from AASL’s For the Record:
Author: Kelly Miller
Affiliate Assembly Representative
Categories: Association News, News
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